(1)Seats [shall be reserved by the [State Election Commission] [Substituted by Act 29 of 1997 w.e.f. 20.10.1997.]] in the Zilla Panchayat,-(a)for Scheduled Castes; and(b)for the Scheduled Tribes;and number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in the Zilla Panchayat as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the district or of the Scheduled Tribes in the district bears to the total population of the district:[Provided that at least one seat each shall be reserved in a Zilla Panchayat for the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled tribes.] [Omitted by Act 10 of 1985 and Inserted by Act 11 of 2000 w.e.f. 25.4.2000.](2)Such number of seats which shall, as nearly as may be one third of the total number of seats in a Zilla Panchayat [shall be reserved by the [State Election Commission] [Substituted by Act 29 of 1997 w.e.f. 20.10.1997.]] for persons belonging to the Backward Classes.[Provided that out of the seats reserved under this sub-section, eighty per cent of the total number of such seats [shall be reserved by the [State Election Commission] [Inserted by Act 10 of 1995 w.e.f. 13.1.1995.]] for the persons falling under category 'A' and the remaining twenty per cent of the seats [shall be reserved by the [State Election Commission] [Substituted by Act 29 of 1997 w.e.f. 20.10.1997.]] for the persons falling under category 'B'.](3)Not less than one third of the seats reserved for each category of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes and those of the non-reserved seats in the Zilla Panchayat [shall be reserved by the [State Election Commission] [Substituted by Act 29 of 1997 w.e.f. 20.10.1997.]] for women:Provided that the seats reserved under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the district:Provided further that nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to prevent the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or Backward Classes or women for whom seats have been reserved in a Zilla Panchayat from standing for election to the non-reserved seats in such Zilla Panchayat.
